


perfection personified

by chidorinnn



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 11:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4178070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chidorinnn/pseuds/chidorinnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Chrom and Cordelia support each other through times of grief, suffering, and war<br/>The S-support that was never meant to be</p>
            </blockquote>





	perfection personified

He finds her sharpening her spear, her long hair messily tied back with a white ribbon. She's focused as always, but sweat is collecting on her brow and her eyebrows are furrowed in something that goes beyond mere concentration. "Cordelia, are you all right?"

The spear clatters to the ground, and she looks up in alarm. “M-Milord! I’m sorry... I-I was not expecting you.”

Chrom bends down to pick up her spear and hands it back to her. “Peace, Cordelia. It wasn’t my intention to disturb you.”

Her cheeks flush a shade of red close to that of her hair, and she averts her eyes downward. “It’s no trouble at all...” 

Her shoulders hike upward when he sits next to her, and she grips her spear so tightly that her knuckles turn white. “You fought well in that last battle,” he says. His voice is steady, clear, and without any hint of exaggeration or deception. “Especially after losing so many of your comrades...” Her fellow Pegasus Knights, he means -- her sisters in everything but blood.

Tears well up in Cordelia’s eyes, but she wills them not to fall. Her sisters would laugh if they saw her cry, and what would Chrom think of her then? “I should have stayed behind with them,” she says, not for the first time.

Chrom sighs, and his hand falls lightly on her shoulder, pressing down some of her hair. “This may sound... selfish of me,” he says slowly, “but I am glad that you’ve decided to share your talents with the Shepherds, regardless.” The smile he gives her makes it difficult to suppress her tears. “I am honored to fight by your side.” Her face goes even redder then, and Chrom jumps back in alarm. “H-Huh? Cordelia? A-Are you feeling all right? If you need time to rest...”

“I’m fine!” she says quickly. “I can fight! What happened to my fellow sisters... It will not hinder me. You have my word.”

“I was worried you’d say something like that...” he mutters under his breath.

“Chrom?”

“The pain of losing your comrades...” He frowns. “You shouldn’t have to face it alone.”

Cordelia shakes her head. “I’m afraid that’s impossible,” she says bluntly. “I cannot force others to bear this burden with me -- least of all, you.”

He gives her a gentle smile. “Well then, allow me to at least offer you a distraction,” he says. “Robin has tasked me with restocking the convoy at the next town. Would you like to accompany me?”

And for the first time in a long time, she smiles. “It would be an honor.”

_(Chrom and Cordelia have attained support level C.)_

* * *

“What drives you, Cordelia? What are your dreams and aspirations?”

“I have more dreams than I can count. But most of all, I’d like for my days to be filled with joy.”

_(Chrom and Cordelia’s relationship has improved.)_

* * *

He comes to her a few days later, a gentle smile on his face that looks out of place in what is assuredly a stressful time for him. “Are you ready to go?” he asks.

“Yes," Cordelia answers briskly. “I’ve already taken inventory of all of our supplies. We need to obtain more salve and more healing staves, and many of our swordsmen have fallen back onto weaker bronze weapons so we should invest in iron or even steel if possible...”

As she continues to prattle on, Chrom’s expression shifts into something somber. He doesn’t react until the third time she calls his name. “Sorry, Cordelia,” he says. “I’m just... grappling with unpleasant thoughts.”

“Like what?” she retorts.

He gives her a wry smile in return. “A burden I cannot force you to bear with me.” 

He throws her own words back to her, and it frustrates her more than she’d like to admit. “Chrom...”

He sighs. “I’m sorry, Cordelia. That was cruel of me.”

“Oh no, not at all. I shouldn’t have pried.” She can only imagine the pain and stress he must be going through -- her own pales in comparison.

He gives her a tired smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Can you repeat what you said before? About the convoy.”

“R-Right.” 

But when she starts again, her mind isn’t entirely there. No, it’s on Chrom, on the tension that seems to plague him. Perhaps it’s him that needs this trip to town most of all, even though he’d been the one to invite her in the first place.

"Chrom...” Cordelia says slowly. “Even if you can’t tell me what it is that bothers you... know that I am here, and I will always be ready to listen, whenever you are ready to speak.”

He nods. “Thank you, Cordelia.”

_(Chrom and Cordelia have attained support level B.)_

* * *

“You look so happy, Chrom. I’m glad... you’ve been looking so anxious lately.”

"Am I? That’s good to hear. You’re looking quite happy yourself!”

_(Chrom and Cordelia’s relationship has improved.)_

* * *

They find themselves in a small town on the border between Ylisse and Regna Ferox. “What was so urgent that you needed me to accompany you?” Chrom asks.

Cordelia just laughs in response. “I simply wished to extend the same courtesy to you that you gave me,” she answers. 

“Oh, I see...” he says slowly. “That time I invited you to come to town with me...” He grimaces. “And then I forced you to fulfill my duties without so much as a word of thanks...”

“You _did_ thank me,” she points out.

“It’s not the same!” Chrom sighs. “I know you’ve been working hard, Cordelia. Do you think I haven’t noticed how the convoy is always perfectly stocked? How everyone’s weapons and armor are always in top form?” 

She averts her eyes downward. “I...”

“You’ve barely had a moment’s rest since you joined the Shepherds,” he continues. “And even when I tried to do something for you in return, I became so preoccupied with my own troubles that I neglected yours.” He turns away from her then, crossing his arms. “Gods, I was so selfish!”

Cordelia sighs quietly and makes her way to his side. “Chrom...” When she lays her hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t push her away. “It made me so, so happy when you invited me to town with you.”

“But still...”

“You turned my words back on me then, so let me turn your words back on you now. All this pain and suffering... you don’t have to face it alone. I’m here, and I will always be ready to listen, if you want to talk.”

And then, Chrom relents. He tells her everything -- everything from his greatest fears and worries, to his smallest, most trivial concerns. And Cordelia listens to it all, not saying a word until he’s finished speaking.

“I... might have said too much,” he says. “Sorry.”

Cordelia shakes her head. “It’s no trouble at all. Do you feel any better now that you’ve told me all of this?”

“I do feel lighter, somehow,” he says, smiling. “Like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

She smiles at him in return. “I’m glad.”

“But you need to promise me that you’ll come to me whenever you’re... grappling with unpleasant thoughts.” 

He looks so earnest then, and Cordelia falls in love with him all over again. “I will.”

Chrom smiles triumphantly. “Now, I believe it’s your turn.”

So she tells him everything about her time in the Pegasus Knights, everything about their relentless teasing, everything about the ill-fated battle that took her sisters away from her -- and when the inevitable tears finally come, he doesn’t make a fuss or push her away.

_(Chrom and Cordelia have attained support level A.)_

* * *

“It would honor me if we fought together.”

“All right. Together, we’ll be unstoppable!”

_(Chrom and Cordelia’s relationship has improved.)_

* * *

She doesn’t wait for him to finish his meeting with Regna Ferox’s Khans, swooping downward on her Pegasus into the fort in the desert where he rests. “Chrom!” The name tears its way out of her throat, and Cordelia pays no heed to the people staring at her.

Lissa quickly begins ushering the Khans out of the fort. The smile Chrom gives her is small and broken, but it’s genuine and that’s all that matters now. “Thank you, Cordelia,” he says tiredly. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You exaggerate, milord,” Cordelia replies breathlessly as she hops down from her Pegasus. “The battle ended with swift and decisive victory due to your strength.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t mean it in that way.” He looks to the battlefield, to the desert where Mad King Gangrel had been slain. “So much has happened... if I wasn’t focusing on this fight with Gangrel, then I was worrying about Lissa, thinking of Emm, wondering just what I’m going to do now that everything is over...” He smiles at her then, something fragile and broken, but genuine all the same. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I would have made it through.”

Her face flushes bright scarlet, but Cordelia looks directly to Chrom anyway. “W-Well it’s the same for me as well,” she says. “If you hadn’t been there for me when I lost my sisters, I doubt I would have been able to fight well enough to support you here.”

“I’m glad...”

A comfortable silence lapses between them, the first peaceful moment in a long time. “Say, Cordelia...”

“Yes?”

“You said before that... that you would always be here for me, ready to listen whenever I’m grappling with too many unpleasant thoughts.”

“I did, and I meant every word.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he assures her. “But what I mean to say is... the same goes for me. You work so hard, sacrifice so much for everyone else’s sake.”

Now it’s Cordelia’s turn to laugh. “I can assure you, it’s hardly a sacrifice.”

“Even so,” he continues, “whenever you feel too anxious or upset... I’ll be here for you as well, and I’ll always be ready to listen whenever you need to talk.”

Her heart soars. “Th-Thank you, Chrom... You have no idea how happy this makes me.”

“This may be... asking too much,” he says slowly, “but my sister always followed, so now I’m going to follow mine.” He takes a deep breath and takes both her hands in his. “Cordelia... will you marry me?” Her face turns a shade of red darker than her hair, and Chrom releases her immediately and jumps back. “C-Cordelia? I’m sorry... Did I ask for too much?”

Cordelia has to slap her cheeks a few times to regain her composure. This is no dream, she slowly realizes, and the moment feels surreal. “N-No, not at all! Th-That is... I...” She takes a deep breath to compose herself, and then she takes his hands in hers. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

Most of the tension leaves him as he visibly relaxes. The smile he gives her is one of relief, and for the first time in a long time, he laughs. “Thank you, Cordelia. You have no idea how happy this makes me.”

A small laugh bubbles from her as well. “You’re awfully fond of turning my own words back on me, aren’t you?”

“I said I’d listen, didn’t I?” He shakes his head. “But I’ll have to ask for some patience for the near future.”

“Of course!” she agrees vehemently. “Healing this war’s scars comes first, and I will do all that I can to assist you.”

“Thank you, Cordelia,” he says. “I hope the day that we can begin our life together comes soon.”

_(Chrom and Cordelia have attained support level S.)_


End file.
